KUALA LUMPUR: Sustained foreign selling on Bursa Malaysia saw investors staying cautious early Thursday as they awaited firmer signs of stronger recovery before putting their money in riskier assets.
At 9.18am, the KLCI was down 1.62 points or 0.09% lower at1,835.06. Turnover was 241.74 million shares valued at RM60mil. There were 208 gainers, 104 losers and 241 counters unchanged.
Kenanga Investment Bank Research said the medium-to-longer term outlook remains positively biased with SMAs in a “Golden Crossover” state.
It said the KLCI is now in the midst of testing its 1,840 (R1) resistance.
“Expect coming days to be choppy though keep close watch-out on any decisive breakout of R1 to see a movement towards 1,888 (R2) above. Key support is likely at 1,800 (S1) psychological level, below which 1,767 (S2) is next,” it said.
Asian shares flirted with six-week lows on Thursday as US bond yields crept up towards four-year highs as investors fretted that low borrowing costs enjoyed by companies for many years may be endangered by the threat of rising inflation, Reuters reported.
Hartalega
fell 26 sen to RM11.24, Carlsberg 14 sen to RM16.38 and Padini seven sen lower at RM5.01.
However, BAT was the top gainer, up 34 sen to RM32.16, Petronas Gas added 32 sen to RM17.94 and HLFG 30 sen to RM18.74.
Petron added 22 sen to RM11.48, Genting Plantations 19 sen to R10.18 and Top Glove climbed 11 sen to RM9.11.
Meanwhile, the US dollar was off recent lows against major rivals on Thursday, benefiting from the euro's weakness and higher US yields but capped by concerns about recent equity market volatility.
Against a basket of six major rival currencies, the dollar was steady on the day at 90.267, probing its highest levels in two weeks, Reuters reported.
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